Drabbles from the Batcave
by rhpsdeadzonefan
Summary: Writing prompt fills originally posted to Reddit's writing prompt subreddit from the Nolanverse Batman films.
1. Batman & Robin

A/N: Originally written in 2014. [EU]: Rewrite to plot of Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997), as if it took place in Christopher Nolan's Batman series.

"I need your help."

"I'm not coming back to Gotham."

The man seated across from former Gotham City cop John Blake wasn't Batman - hell, he wasn't even Bruce Wayne anymore, though he did look more like a relaxed playboy than he ever had when he played the role. He was dressed in a rumpled button up and shorts. He looked well rested - _happy_ \- something he never was in Gotham City. Maybe it was the change of scenery? Italy could do that to a person, he supposed. Blake, on the other hand, was weary and tired. Protecting a city could do that to a person, he knew.

"How did you even find us?" Selina joined them on the veranda, bringing both of them glasses of orange juice to sip.

"I had some help," Blake admitted to the couple. Alfred. Of course it had been Alfred. "Look, I know it's been a few years... and I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think it were absolutely necessary. There are new threats to Gotham. Pamela Isley and Dr. Victor Fries are-"

Bruce held up a hand, cutting him off. "If they're threatening the city, why are you here?" He asked, staring him down. He had left the mantle of the Batman to Blake because he thought that he could trust him with his city. Had that trust been misplaced?

"Because I can't do this alone! I've gotten word that Isley has been working on some plant-based toxin with Crane. She was a botanist-"

"Working on a freelance basis at Wayne Enterprises. I wanted to keep a closer eye on her research at the time," Bruce finished for him.

"Yeah... Well, it seems like she's out of research mode. Her funding was pulled from Wayne Enterprises, but she's still getting resources from somewhere," Blake informed before taking a sip of the orange juice. He winced. "Does this have alcohol?"

Selina smirked. "Screwdriver. It's brunch," She replied dryly.

John just shook his head and sat aside the drink.

"You mentioned Dr. Victor Fries. What does he have to do with this?" Bruce asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

John sighed. "Fries was a doctor at the new Gotham General. His wife, Nora, was diagnosed with a rare disease and Fries became obsessed with finding a cure-"

"I funded some of his research too on the disease and cryogenics," Bruce admitted and Selina gave him a look.

"How do you remember all of this?" She asked him with an amused smirk and the former billionaire just gave a shrug.

"And again, your funding fell through. Fries got desperate," He mentioned to Bruce. "He got his cryogenic chamber to work, but there were consequences. I believe he's addicted to one of the chemical components he's been working with. He's rigged a suit that feeds him in some of those chemicals. Recently, he's weaponized the suit and begun robbing some of the smaller banks in Gotham. I believe he's planning something bigger. He's desperate - not only to help his wife, but to keep up with his addiction. Neither are going to be cheap and I've gotten word that he's been in contact with Isley and Crane."

"The three of them working together..." Bruce shook his head. Their intellect might prove to be unstoppable.

"That's why I need your help. You were there in the Narrows when Crane's first toxin hit. I was just a kid," John reminded him.

"If he's in, so am I," Selina chimed in. She wasn't about to be left out of the action now.

Bruce looked to her before looking back to Blake. "Go back to Gotham on the next plane out," He suggested. "We'll be back by tonight," He promised.

John Blake gave a nod and left the two to pack.

Bruce Wayne looked out upon the Italian city that he'd chosen to start his life anew. It was so quiet... so tranquil... so bright. He glanced over to the woman he'd made a promise to share this new life with. Were they ready to step back into the darkness?

"It'll be alright, Bruce," Selina promised him, knowing already what was weighing on his mind. "It'll be okay to go home again." She took his hand in her own, leading him away from the veranda. They needed to be ready. Gotham needed it's true hero.

* * *

"I like what you've done with the place."

"It's a little damp in here, isn't it? Weren't either of you worried about a mold problem?" Selina asked, looking between the two.

There was no time for pleasantries or jokes, however, as Blake was already moving about the cave. He didn't even look over at the voices - he had been expecting them.

"There was another robbery by Dr. Fries," Blake admitted, already hard at work on the computer, bringing up footage for the former Batman and former thief to look at. He ignored Selina's comment for now. "This time it was in broad daylight."

"He's getting bolder," Bruce surmised.

"And more greedy," John added. "It was a larger bank this time. He had enough time to clear out some of the safety deposit boxes. Apparently Gotham PD's response time was sluggish because they were all affected by something in the air vents. I've gotten samples from Gordon."

"Isley and Crane?" Bruce assumed and Blake nodded. He walked over to the case that held both cowl and cape and opened it. He threw a mass of black kevlar across the cave and Bruce caught it. "Two Batmen?" Bruce questioned, shaking his head.

"Nah... I've been working on a little something else," John assured, pulling out another suit of his own, emblazoned with dark navy blue across the chest.


	2. Protecting Gotham's Protector

A/N: Originally written and posted to Reddit in 2014. [WP] Batman temporarily steps into the afterlife and sees his parents for the first time in 24 years. They are deeply saddened by what he has become.

"Bruce... My darling boy..." Martha looked upon her son with such sad brown eyes. She was dressed in a flowing white gown with a pearl necklace draped across her collarbone. She hadn't aged a day.

Batman was on the ground, trying to get his bearings. One moment he had been fighting Bane and the next complete darkness - then now this blinding light. Had he been hit by some sort of chemical? A toxin? Was he hallucinating? He had to be hallucinating. His eyes looked around wildly, trying to focus - trying to see what was real.

Still, Martha went to him and tried to help him from the ground. Her gentle touch on his arm certainly felt real as she guided him to his feet.

"Mom?" His normally gravelly voice was much higher and softer than it had been in decades. He looked down to himself to see not the beacon of justice he had become, but the small boy that had lost so much so quickly. He took a step back, knowing that if he was hallucinating - he _had_ to be hallucinating - that his enemies would take this advantage. He took a fighting stance, pushing away all of the emotions that were welling up inside him.

"Oh Bruce..." That same sad, pitying look met his eyes, almost making him want to turn away in shame. "Is this what you've become?"

"Stop it!" The dark knight growled as fiercely as he could in his current state.

"I won't tolerate you speaking to your mother like that, young man," Thomas said sternly, appearing on the other side of him.

"We're real, Bruce. You've passed on now. We only want to help you now," Martha insisted, putting her hands up and walking towards him.

"Passed on?" He was dead? No, he couldn't be dead. Batman had no limits. Gotham still needed him. This was a hallucination.

"This was never what we wanted for you - all this senseless violence. You should have lived your life," Martha sounded so heartbroken, tears already clouding her eyes and Thomas went over to console his wife.

Thomas continued for her. "We've seen what you've done, Bruce. We've watched from here. You've never known true happiness. You've never allowed yourself that. It wasn't a life-"

"I've been trying to do what was right. I have to save Gotham-"

"Not like this. Alfred should have gotten you help, Son. You shouldn't have stopped living without us. You need to realize it-"

Everything went black again for a few moments before the caped crusader was back in the blinding white light.

"-responsibility. None of it was," Thomas continued on as though nothing had happened.

Martha looked over to her son and started walking over to him. "Bruce, we love you. We love you so much... but you can't save everyone if you never have saved yourself," She said.

The world's greatest detective was at his breaking point. He couldn't stand to see his parents looking at him like this. Hallucination be damned - he missed them too much for this. He reached out to hug his mother and as he did, the world went black again.

When he awoke, he saw the blinding white light again and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. He looked around wildly a moment, seeing Alfred in the chair next to his hospital bed.

"Shhh... Master Wayne, it's alright," The butler soothed. "We thought we lost you there for a tick. You're in the hospital, but you're going to be just fine."

Tears filled Bruce's eyes. It had been real and now he knew what his parents wanted him to do - what he _had_ to do. He just wished he would have had the chance to hug his mother one last time.


	3. The Dark Knight Rises Again

A/N: Originally written and posted to Reddit in 2014. [EU] Bruce Wayne enjoys many years of leisure with his wife, the retired Catwoman. He lives a peaceful life until he wakes up to find a bloody Joker card.

"How did he find you here?" Selina asked, looking down at the card in her husband's hands. The pair had been living off the grid in Milan for some time now as Mr. and Mrs. Black - a name Selina had first selected as a joke and that Bruce had quickly grown fond of.

"I don't know." Bruce was tense. He stared down at the blood stained playing card in his hand. "I need to get this tested," He mentioned.

"Bruce... Where are you going to go?" She asked him. He hadn't done this for years. "It's not like we have the equipment to-"

He walked past her, onward to their study and she quickly followed. He pulled at a dusty book on the shelf and Selina shook her head.

"You've really been keeping this from me? When did you build this?" She asked incredulously.

"It was a main selling point of the house when we bought it," Bruce admitted.

"That's why we looked at so many and you were never satisfied." There was no hint of anger in her voice, only amusement. Of course he would always have his secrets - he would always want to be prepared.

Bruce looked over at her and gave the faintest hint of a smile as the wall opened to a hidden staircase.

"You're not going after him alone, you know," Selina reminded him as the pair descended the stairs. They were a team now and it seemed that they were coming out of retirement.


End file.
